Thursday, August 22, 2013

Feel
like taking a walk? How about taking a quiz first? It’s about walking, so
perhaps it will inspire you (or at least inform you):

1.
People who live in neighborhoods with sidewalks are how much more likely to be
active at least 30 minutes a day?

A)
13%

B)
29%

C)
47%

D)
73%

E)
Doesn’t have an impact

ANSWER:
C, according to a study if neighborhood environments in 11 countries published
in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

2.
What makes pedestrians feel the most threatened about walking?

A)
Potential for crime

B)
Motorists

C)
Uneven surfaces

D)
Dogs or other animals

ANSWER:
B in all three categories – suburban, urban and rural. A is second for suburban
areas, while D comes in second for both rural and urban walkers.

3.
Based on the percentage of deaths, what’s the most dangerous time to be
walking?

A)
4-8 p.m.

B)
8 p.m.-midnight

C)
Midnight-4 a.m.

D)
4-8 a.m.

E)
8 a.m.-noon

F)
Noon-4 p.m.

ANSWER:
B, when 31% of pedestrian fatalities happen… thanks to a combination of less light
and more traffic (and perhaps a few adult beverages?). Second is A (more
traffic?), followed by C (more tired people?). Your best bet for safety? It’s 8
a.m. to 4 p.m.

4.
In the past 10 years, pedestrian fatalities nationwide as a percentage of all
traffic fatalities has:

A)
Risen

B)
Fallen

C)
Stayed the same.

ANSWER:
A. From 2002 to 2011, pedestrian fatalities have on average fallen in number
but increased as a percentage of the total – because the total number of
traffic fatalities has dropped even more. Pedestrian fatalities were 14% of
total fatalities in 2011 (the last reporting year on file) as compared to 11%
in 2002.

5.
How often is alcohol involved in pedestrian fatalities?

A)
16%

B)
32%

C)
48%

D)
64%

ANSWER:
C when the blood alcohol content (BAC) for both pedestrians and drivers are
measured. Interestingly, a high BAC in a pedestrian raises the risk of a
pedestrian fatality much more than a driver with a higher BAC

6)
Which state had the highest pedestrian fatalities per total population in 2001
(the last reporting year)?

7)
What’s the most dangerous area in the state, when measured using an indicator
called the Pedestrian Danger Index?

A)
Fort Myers-Cape Coral

B)
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach

C)
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater

D)
Orlando-Kissimmee

E)
Jacksonville

ANSWER:
D. Sorry, we’re only third out of this list – yes, more dangerous than Miami
and Jacksonville (which is the only one of these five areas that comes in under
the state average).

Some
good news: The Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), in conjunction
with a broad array of stakeholders, is developing a countywide Bicycle and
Pedestrian Safety Action Plan that aims to address many safety issues. The plan
will be ready for implementation this fall.

BikeWalkLee
is a community coalition raising public awareness and advocating for complete
streets in Lee County—streets that are designed, built, operated and maintained
for safe and convenient travel for all users: pedestrians, bicyclists,
motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities. Information,
statistics and background online at www.BikeWalkLee.org.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Early last Saturday morning an
enthusiastic group of bike-pedestrian safety experts and advocates left from
Cape Coral City Hall on bicycles to see first-hand examples of some of the city's
best and worse places to ride. This
included the challenge of navigating the dangerous intersection at Veterans
Parkway and Santa Barbara Boulevard. It
was part of a series of educational bike
tours for municipal officials and others supported by Lee County EMS and
facilitated by BikeWalkLee’s Dan Moser and Ann Pierce.

The group included two
representatives from the Florida Department of Transportation: Carmen Monroy, Director of the SW Area Office, and Providance Nagy, District 1 Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator. Other participants included Mike Bacigalupo, BikeWalkLee's
newly appointed Cape Coral representative, Pat Young and Steve Chupack of Cape Coral Bike-Ped (CCBP), Mike Swanson from
Caloosa Riders, Carlos Monroy, and Bob Gardner with the City
of Fort Myers. Cape Coral City officials and staff were
invited, but were either out-of-town or had other obligations that prevented
their participation. BikeWalkLee and
CCBP hope to schedule other opportunities in the coming months so that these
officials and staff can experience this valuable see-for-yourself educational
experience.

There were frequent stops during
the 11-mile ride when specific examples of particularly dangerous situations
were analyzed. Sometimes it was a case
of poor road or intersection design, or blocked visibility, or bikeways with
overhanging branches. Dan and others
made it a point to suggest solutions to problem areas so that this could be
passed along to city staff for their consideration.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Participate in local government – at any time, from any place – with the “Lee County Town Hall” virtual public forum. Lee County’s new interactive website, at www.leecountytownhall.com,
invites residents to share opinions and ideas on proposed projects to
help improve our community. The growing list of campaigns will also
feature polls and challenges just for fun. Registration is free, so get
involved today!

- See more at: http://www.leegov.com/Pages/default.aspx#sthash.cb27ncDU.dpuf

Join “Lee County Town Hall” Online Public Forum

Participate in local government – at any time, from any place – with the “Lee County Town Hall” virtual public forum. Lee County’s new interactive website, at www.leecountytownhall.com,
invites residents to share opinions and ideas on proposed projects to
help improve our community. The growing list of campaigns will also
feature polls and challenges just for fun. Registration is free, so get
involved today!

- See more at: http://www.leegov.com/Pages/default.aspx#sthash.cb27ncDU.dpuf

The County's Town Hall website invites residents to share opinions and ideas on proposed projects to help improve our community. The College Parkway Corridor Study is one of those projects and has added new topics seeking your input. It's up to YOU
to become part of this exciting interactive community conversation! Registration is free, so get
involved today!

Lee County is evaluating
redevelopment options for the College Parkway corridor. We will be
studying existing conditions, identifying the area’s unique needs, and
making recommendations on how the redevelopment might take place. The
plan needs to be based on the desires and vision of the community, so
public participation is critical to its success. We’ll be adding topics
for you to share your thoughts about redevelopment, complete streets,
green space and buildings. Participate via social media and traditional
meetings.

Monday, August 12, 2013

BikeWalkLee welcomes its new representative for Cape Coral, Mike Bacigalupo. Thanks to our outgoing Cape rep, Steve Chupack, for his terrific work these past three years. Thanks to
all six of BWL's local reps for keeping our network informed and
involved in what's happening around the county.

Background
BikeWalkLee
has been involved in advocacy on a countywide basis, participating in
all the Lee County MPO meetings and committees, and in the Board of
County Commission committees and hearings. While the majority of
transportation decisions that affect bike/ped/transit facilities and
complete streets policies are made in these two bodies, the local
jurisdictions (Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach,
and Sanibel) also make bike/ped decisions on their local roads as well
as influence decisions on county maintained roads.

Beginning
in 2011, BikeWalkLee designated local representatives in each
jurisdiction. Click here to the updated list and bios of our local
representatives. These individuals serve as our “point persons” who
lead the local
advocacy efforts and keep the BWL network informed about what’s
happening in their jurisdiction. Great things are happening in the local
jurisdictions and our local representatives are in the thick of things.

New Cape Coral Rep:
We're
pleased to announce that Mike Bacigalupo is the new BWL representative
for Cape Coral. Mike has been a resident of Cape Coral since 2004, when he moved
from New Jersey, and has been involved in the community since his
arrival.He's a member of the Cape
Coral Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Realtor Association, and on the
Local Relay for Life Team.He's a
licensed adjuster, a licensed realtor, and has been a self-employed
consultant since 1997.

He was
inspired to get involved in BikeWalkLee when he participated in one of BikeWalkLee's
educational bike tours led by Dan Moser. He enjoys biking, kayaking, running, and golf.

He said he wants to get involved in BikeWalkLee "because he wants
Cape Coral and Lee County to be a destination where active families and
individuals will want to live in health and harmony with the local environment."

A special thanks from the BikeWalkLee team to Steve Chupack, who has been a terrific Cape Coral rep for the past three years. He played a key role in bringing new bike lanes to the Cape, launched the first annual Bicycle Safety Rodeo for students, and helped launch the Cape Coral Bike-Ped group (CCBP), which is doing great things in the Cape.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

This week's BikeWalkLee column highlights the great work of Cape Coral Bike-Ped in bringing an upcoming 90-mile bike route system to reality.

Looking
for a place to ride in Cape Coral? Your choices are good and getting
better all the time – thanks to the commitment of a core of concerned
citizens to turn the Cape into a bicyclist’s dream.The
citizens are the many members of Cape Coral Bike-Ped (CCPD), which
formed less than a year ago to promote safer bike-ped options in the
county’s largest city. The strategy is to connect existing bike-ped
paths – bike lanes, sidewalks, low-traffic streets – into a more
effective network by spending infrastructure dollars in partnership with
city government and other entities.

And
the result? A stellar show of support for its initial efforts, the
beginnings of a mapped and branded bike-ped network and, eventually, a
network of more than 90 miles of connected cycling routes throughout the
city.

But those
ready to ride today don’t have to wait. Head to this link to find myriad maps showing current planned
routes that ring the city – complete with distances, directions, and
more. Routes can run from less than 3 miles up to 50 miles, giving every
level of rider a reasonable option.Impressed?
Wait until you see the roster of sponsors CCBP has put together to
support this growing network with signage to show the way and donations
to help the city complete crucial connections that will make this
network even more effective. They include:

Each
has taken on the task of raising funds to make one of these routes a
reality, to assist the city in making the necessary network connections
to build this citywide circuit and turn the Cape into a cycling
destination. Signage to designate the various routes and the specific
route detail are being worked on, so stay tuned for updates on
construction details. All the routes tie together (eventually), and of
course will link up with existing county bike infrastructure to really
complete the cycling connection.

It’s a lesson we’re seeing more and more
communities learn: Bike-ped infrastructure gets more use when it gets
people from Point A to Point B (and beyond) safely and surely… and that
seeing people out biking and walking inspires others to join them,
building momentum and awareness.

To get
this far this fast takes strong community support, true. But it also
takes a few dedicated individuals making this there mission – and CCBP
has been fortunate to find just that in group founder Carolyn Conant and
a handful of Cape citizens such as Mike Swanson, the coordinator
responsible for creating the various routes, who saw a need, identified a
solution and worked with the city and the community to make it happen.

Happen it did – and bicyclists throughout Southwest Florida can be thankful for that.

BikeWalkLee
is a community coalition raising public awareness and advocating for
complete streets in Lee County—streets that are designed, built,
operated and maintained for safe and convenient travel for all users:
pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and
abilities. Information, statistics and background online at www.BikeWalkLee.org.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Florida Weekly, August 7, 2013 This week's Moser column highlights the upcoming Punta Gorda night run, and the advocacy update focuses on the school-managed recreational facilities that are unavailable to the public (including children) after school hours.

Dan Moser

Timing
is everything when doing things outdoors this time of year, especially
if you’re a runner. Start out too late and any thoughts of a long run
can easily become little more than a quest for shade and an end to the
torture. There are, however, exceptions — the small group I’ve witnessed
running along McGregor every day at noon for almost two decades being
one of them. Those kinds of die-hards aside, most runners would love to
run a race when it’s as tolerable as it’ll get for late August in
Southwest Florida. That can only mean a nighttime race. And I don’t mean
evening, I mean nighttime.

Beginning at 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24, the streets of Punta Gorda’s
historic downtown and its waterfront Harborwalk will be the route for Hot August Nights 8K,
a race that finishes uphill on the rooftop of the city’s downtown
parking garage. The reward is a post-race cool-down gathering and awards
presentation that promises to be something to remember (beer, of course,
will be part of it). This first-time event is the brainchild of The
Foot Landing, a locally owned store that offers shoes, clothing and gear
for all levels of runners and triathletes. The store’s owners, being
from Key West, thought they’d spice oi things up a bit by creating the
kind of event that should do just that. Finishing on the roof of the
parking garage may sound strange, but the store is located on the first
floor retail level, so it’s actually a logical place. Having to run
uphill to the finish line is also unusual — especially in our part of
Florida — but that’s just another reason to be part of it.

A common sight: fenced out of a school playground.

Just a week after that event comes the annual Dr Ella Piper Legacy 5K Run/Walk being staged from Dunbar Middle School in Fort Myers on Saturday, Aug. 31. One month later, on Saturday, Sept. 28, the Cops & Joggers 5K moves to the evening this year in the Fort Myers River District.

Advocacy update
“Don’t fence me out.” That’s the catch phrase of a public service ad
campaign I remember seeing on TV in the early 1970s when I lived in the
Northeast. It reminded those who managed properties with basketball
courts, baseball and soccer fields, running tracks and playgrounds to
allow them to be used rather than locked up. Unfortunately, today our
schools are the most glaring example of fencing the public out from
these resources, allowing them to sit idle. Of course, kids will always
find other, often unhealthy and unproductive, things to do when school’s
out.

Now that our schools resemble medium-security correctional
facilities, we’ve become accustomed to being fenced out and accept it as
the price we must pay to be safe. But keeping those who have no
legitimate business off school grounds while classes are in session is
much different than wasting valuable athletic and recreational amenities
during non-school hours and on weekends. Considering these are truly
public resources paid for by you and me, we should have reasonable
access. Sure, the good news is that vandalism is down when things are
locked up. The bad news is that by denying access, kids and others often
find something else to do that costs society a lot more than preventing
vandalism would and, ironically, sometimes means someone is locked up
as a result. That’s on top of the lost health benefits and the costs
associated with inactivity.

To its credit, Lee County Parks & Recreation has built parks
adjacent to some public schools, so there is at least some attempt to
get the biggest bang for the public buck. But if you really look at the
wasted potential that is locked behind our schools’ gates, we’re doing
ourselves a major disservice in the name of security. There has to be a
way to make this work. Any ideas? Go to Lee County Town Hall (www.leecountytownhall.com)
with your suggestions. And don’t forget to visit BikeWalkLee’s blog
(bikewalklee. blogspot.com) to stay abreast of this and other community
matters.
Until next time, I’ll look for you on the roads and trails.

—
Dan Moser is a league cycling and CyclingSavvy instructor/ trainer and
programs director for the Florida Bicy cle Association who cycles, runs
and walks regularly for transportation, recreation and fitness. He can
be contacted at dan@floridabicycle.org or 334- 6417.

Monday, August 5, 2013

BikeWalkLee is pleased to see that today USDOT Secretary Anthony Foxx launched a campaign to combat the increases in pedestrian fatalities. The new website, Everyone Is A Pedestrian, is an excellent "one-stop shop" resource for everyone involved in our community's efforts to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety in Lee County. This website has been added to BikeWalkLee's Favorite Links on our blog. These resources can assist the community as it finalizes and then implements the Lee MPO Bicycle Pedestrian Safety Action.

"Everyone Is A Pedestrian"
offers safety information that communities can use to keep pedestrians
safe. With ideas for parents on teaching children about safe walking;
reports on effective pedestrian projects for state highway safety
offices; guides for community pedestrian safety advocates; and more, the
new website hosts a tremendous collection of useful content, and I urge
you to visit.
As
NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said, “To help stop the recent
increase in deaths and injuries, we need everyone to play a role in
pedestrian safety. Working with partners on the federal, state, local
and individual level, we hope to turn this concerning trend around.”

I'm glad to hear it because according to NHTSA data, 4,432
pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in 2011. That's an 8 percent
increase since 2009, and it's an increase we simply can't accept.

But if we're going to reduce the number of pedestrian deaths and injuries, we're going to need everyone's help. If you're looking for a place to start, the new Everyone Is A Pedestrian website is a good first step.

Friday, August 2, 2013

In an earlier blog postwe told you about this exciting
Sarasota Honore Blvd. project--instead of widening the road to be a 6-lane highway as
originally planned, they changed it to be a multi-modal two-lane corridor with
six roundabouts! The Sarasota team will be making a presentation on
August 16th to the Lee MPO Board as part of its series of Peer Exchanges. We hope that many elected officials, staff, committee members, and interested
organizations and citizens will take advantage of this opportunity to learn
from Sarasota as the Lee MPO prepares to develop its 2040 LRTP.

Overview

This presentation will
be the second in a series of "Peer Exchanges" by the Lee MPO Board to
learn from other communities' experiences as the MPO begins the process of
developing its 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). This
informative series of Peer to Peer Exchanges not only benefit the MPO Board,
but also provide an excellent opportunity for staff and citizens throughout Lee
County to be a part of the conversation.

The
series was kicked off at the June MPO Board meeting with a presentation by the
Executive Director the Nashville MPO, about the award-winning and visionary
transportation plan developed by the Nashville area MPO in 2010, followed by a
lively discussion with MPO Board members.Click here for highlights from the Nashville discussion.

August 16th:Sarasota.The Lee MPO Board's next meeting is on
Friday, August 16th (9 a.m. in the Cape Coral City Council Chambers), and at
that meeting, there will be a presentation by a Sarasota team about their
award-winning Honore Blvd. project.Making the
Sarasota presentation will beJim Harriott,
County Engineer for Sarasota County along with Frank Domingo (who also lives in
the neighborhood), and Stantec (the consultant). They will be doing about a
20-25 minute presentation and then will open it up for discussion with the Board members. Then the public will have an opportunity to comment. (Here's agenda for 8/16 meeting--this is item #12.)

Background on Honore Blvd.
Project

Honore
Ave from Fruitville south to Bee Ridge, Sarasota County, FL

Instead of widening Honore Blvd. to be a 6-lane
highway as originally planned, Sarasota County changed it to be amulti-modal
two-lane corridor with six roundabouts! It is now successfully moving
the traffic while saving millions in capital costs and will save even more in
maintenance cost over the life of the road. At the same time, the road is
much safer for all users; and by using new low impact design for stormwater, it
is much better for the environment. This is truly a win-win-win....and
something that Lee County needs to pursue. Click here for background on the
project, including an excellent video.

If all had gone as planned, Honore Avenue would be a
bustling six-lane highway running south from Manatee County
to Englewood. Instead, the 2.5 mile section just south of busy Fruitville Road
is a two-lane road bordered by bioswales and punctuated with roundabouts that
accommodate nearly as much traffic as a four-lane highway. Not only do the bioswales
collect a significant percentage of pollution, neighbors love the design – and
it cost $2.3 million less to build than the county had budgeted for a more
traditional alternative....

”It’s important to accommodate automobiles but there needs
to be a balance,” says Jon Thaxton, who served on the Sarasota Board of County
Commissioners for 12 years before being term-limited
out. “There is a balance here: there’s room for automobiles but there’s also a
comfortable space for pedestrians and bicyclists – and the environment.”

.... From a traffic perspective, the road with roundabouts keeps cars moving
because they don’t need to stop for red lights along the 2.5-mile section.
Capacity is about 85% of a traditional four-lane but the number of serious
accidents has dropped dramatically because there are no intersections.

“Roadways are like
hourglasses,” Thaxton explains. “It doesn’t matter how much capacity you have
at the top and the bottom, the volume is determined by the size of the
connection in the middle.” Roundabouts slow traffic down but don’t require that
cars stop at traffic lights or for left-hand turns. They also nearly eliminate
the potential for t-bone crashes that can cause serious injuries. “Someone
would almost have to want to get hurt to have a serious accident on this road,”
he said.

Stantec’s senior
traffic engineer, Francisco Domingo, also lives in an adjacent neighborhood so
the project was particularly near to his heart. He walks the road several times
a week, checking for tire marks on the curbs of the roundabouts that might
indicate that a driver took the curves too quickly. “People caught on to how to
use them even more quickly than we expected,” he said. And with bioswales built
between the road and the sidewalk, pedestrians are protected from careless
drivers. “I never thought I’d see it happen, but people come from all over to
use this sidewalk to teach their youngsters how to ride a bike,” Domingo
said....

"The 2.7 mile Honore Avenue extension delivered an array of economic and
community benefits, and sets a new standard for limiting the environmental
impact of road construction in the region. Instead of a planned four-lane
highway, the two-lane divided road features six roundabouts, bicycle lanes, LED
streetlights, Florida-friendly landscaping, and bio-swales and rain gardens to
treat stormwater runoff. Through the use of imaginative land and median
configuration and boardwalks, the design team saved more than 75% of the
existing high value trees and more than 16 acres of forested, publicly owned
lands that are also home to two bald eagles nests."

Next
in Lee MPO Peer Exchange Series:

September
20th: Broward County.At the Sept. 20th Lee MPO Board meeting, a
team from the Broward County MPO (Broward Mayor Kristin Jacobs and Broward MPO
Director Greg Stuart) will do a presentation about their innovative LRTP, which
includes a policy of no more roadway capacity expansion, with a shift to
transit and bike/ped.

About BikeWalkLee Blog

This is the official Blog for BikeWalkLee.org. BikeWalkLee is a community coalition raising public awareness and advocating for complete streets in Lee County -- streets that are designed, built, operated and maintained for safe and convenient travel for all users: pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities.